


Spilled Coffee

by rachel_exe



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College Student Eren Yeager, Developing Relationship, Humor, Light-Hearted, M/M, Pining Eren Yeager, Teacher-Student Relationship, professor Levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-16 11:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19316914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachel_exe/pseuds/rachel_exe
Summary: When Eren spilled his coffee on a stranger's white shirt, he didn't know he had pissed off the hottest professor on earth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is again something I wrote for a prompt on tumblr, I had a lot of fun writing it and I really hope you enjoy it as well :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I'm just trying to help." "Well, I hate to break it to you, but you just made it worse."

Eren wasn’t late, he was perfectly on time for his first day of college. He wasn’t going to be that guy that entered the classroom while the professor was already explaining and had to awkwardly sit in the first row because there were no empty seats in the back, where he could have pretended he didn’t exist for the next two hours.

He quickly glanced at the watch on his wrist. 

“Shit.” 

He was definitely late. 

He started to run, holding the portable coffee cup in his hand above his head and doing his best to avoid the mass of people populating the busy city centre. He cursed every single slow walker on his way and almost got ran over by a car when he tried to avoid a couple making out right in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Ever since he had woken up, the world had been against him. First, his alarm clock didn’t go off and absolutely not because he had forgotten to set it when he had gone to sleep at 2 a.m. Then, the coffee shop he usually went to had been packed, meaning he had to wait for over twenty minutes to get his coffee refill. Again, definitely not his fault for going there during rush hour. 

Who was he kidding? It was absolutely his fault, but in his defence, he had been too nervous to go to bed at a humane hour and he needed coffee if he wanted to survive the day. 

He glanced at his watch again. He had a total of two minutes before being officially late. He sprinted and took a sharp right turn, remembering the shortcut his friend had shown him. Since his arm was starting to hurt and there weren’t going to be a lot of people in that secluded street anyway, he lowered his coffee cup, bringing it in front of him, but as he was turning, he bumped into someone. The coffee cup inevitably opened and the liquid landed on a white shirt. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” Eren said. 

Despite the fear of being late, his mind quickly realised that the coffee had been boiling hot and that whoever he had just hit was most likely going to burn themselves, so Eren promptly took the water bottle from his backpack and poured it on the white shirt, but his hand was immediately slapped away. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” a voice said. 

Eren finally looked up and was met by an angry pair of grey eyes that matched the furrowed brow on top of them. He stared at the guy in front of him for a moment. He was pretty young, definitely not older than thirty and his slick black hair was styled in an undercut. 

Oh shit, the guy was hot. 

“I’m just trying to help,” Eren eventually said. 

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you just made it worse." 

The coffee stain had widened and the white shirt had become see-through, exposing part of the man’s toned chest. Eren swallowed at the sight, almost forgetting the harshness of the man’s words, but then the dread of being late crept up on him again. 

“I didn’t want you to get burned,” he said, gathering up his stuff. “And I already said I was sorry, okay?” 

“Your excuses won’t fix the mess on my shirt,” the man retorted, evidently irritated. 

Even if the guy was absolutely Eren’s type, Eren was starting to lose his patience at his rudeness and the clock told him he was already five minutes late to his lecture. 

“Listen, if you want me to pay for a new shirt or something like that just tell me,” he said. “I’m running late, and I really have to go now.” 

“Like I care if you’re late,” the man glared at him. “I have somewhere to be as well and now I have to go back home and change because some shitty brat didn’t look where he was going.” 

Eren pinched the bridge of his nose, gathering up the last drops of his self-control. 

“Since you have places to be, I won’t keep you any longer,” he said with a fake smile. “Have a nice day.” 

_Asshole._

He didn’t wait for the man to reply and quickly went his way, waiting to turn another corner before starting to run. There was no way in hell he was going to be on time, but maybe he could get away with just a few minutes of delay. 

He didn’t have to worry about making a fool of himself in front of everyone as when he entered the classroom, the professor was nowhere to be seen. He sighed in relief and walked towards the back of the room where his friend were already waiting for him. 

“Where were you, Eren?” a blond guy said. “You know professor Ackerman hates when people are late.” 

“I know, Armin, but I swear, this time it wasn’t my fault.” 

As they waited for the professor to arrive, Eren told his friend about his fateful morning, complaining about the rudeness of a certain someone, and then went on discussing their plans for the weekend. They had been chatting for over ten minutes, wondering if the lecture had maybe been suspended when the main door opened again. 

Eren stared at the man entering the classroom with wide eyes and lips slightly parted in disbelief. It was the same person he had almost insulted, except he was now wearing a different shirt and a much deeper frown. He couldn’t take his eyes away from him while his stomach turned into a knot and cold sweat covered his forehead. 

“I apologise for the delay, but some annoying brat spilled coffee on my shirt and I had to go back home and change,” the professor explained as he placed his suitcase on the desk. 

Eren was royally screwed. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Can we start over again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's the second chapter! If this whole fic feels kinda rushed, please remember that I wrote it for some tumblr prompts and now I'm simply revising it to make sure there are no mistakes (hopefully).  
> I hope you enjoy!

This time Eren seriously wasn’t late. On the contrary, he was almost half an hour early and nervously shifted in the chair in front of professor Ackerman’s office. Before starting college, he had heard stories about him and everyone he had talked to had described his exam as the hardest to pass, but after what had happened the previous week, Eren was sure he was never going to graduate because of him.

For this reason, he had decided to go to the professor’s office hours to apologise once again and ask if maybe, just maybe, they could put the incident behind their backs and give Eren the slightest chance of passing the exam. So he had woken up on time that morning, drank his coffee at home and made his way to college earlier than necessary. 

The office was tucked away at the end of a long, narrow corridor with no windows and at least ten other ominous wooden doors. As he had walked towards it, Eren had had the dreadful feeling that he was never going to see the sun again and waiting for the professor to arrive certainly felt like waiting for a death sentence. 

The sensation amplified when steps echoed in the corridor, drying Eren’s mouth and sending his heart into overdrive. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but all his best efforts were nullified when he saw the professor approaching him. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and the same white shirt Eren had dirtied, a bad omen for their talk. 

As the professor calmly walked along the endless hallway, Eren stood up from the chair and fixed his sweater and messy hair to look at least presentable. His legs were shaking and his mouth was still dry when the professor came near him. A corner of his mouth was lifted into a smug grin and Eren briefly considered moving to the other side of the planet to avoid the imminent conversation. 

“Good morning,” he squeaked. 

The professor gave him a once over. “’Morning,” he said as he unlocked the door to his office. “Come in.” 

Eren followed him, feeling almost sick, but he did his best to make the feeling go away; throwing up in the professor’s office would have definitely put an end to his career as a college student. Inside the study, the air was stagnant and the professor immediately opened a window. The furniture in the room was basic: a desk with a chair behind it and two in front of it and some bookshelves with manuals and papers. The objects took up the majority of the space, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. 

“What can I do for you?” the professor said, sitting behind the desk. 

Eren sat at the other end and took a deep breath, but the air hitched in his throat when the professor looked at him. When he had first seen him, Eren had found the man to be very much his type, but the thought had been supressed by the quarrel they had. Now, however, being this close to him again and looking straight into his silver eyes, Eren felt a blush creep up his cheeks and his throat was dry again and not just because of the fear. 

“I am one of your new students,” he croaked. 

What the fuck was wrong with his voice? 

“I remember you. Jaeger, right?” 

Oh god, he knew who he was. 

“Yes, but we have also met outside college before and I, ehm, accidentally spilled coffee on your shirt.” 

“Don’t forget the water,” professor Ackerman replied, resting his chin on his hands. 

“I was really just trying to help.” 

Eren sounded desperate and he absolutely was, but the professor didn’t seem moved by his tone and continued to look at him with an almost bored expression. Eren had planned everything he wanted to say and even repeated it out loud the previous night, but now that it was time to say it, the words had vanished from his mind. 

“Can we start over again?” he blurted out. “As teacher and student, I mean.” 

The professor arched his eyebrows as if impressed by Eren’s bluntness. He bore his eyes into Eren’s, silently looking at him for a few seconds and Eren shuddered under his piercing gaze. 

“Okay,” he eventually said. “It wouldn’t be professional of me to hold a grudge against you for something unrelated to my course.” 

Eren looked at him with wide eyes and the tension seeped away from his body. 

“Thank you,” he beamed, incredulous. 

“But if I see you slacking off during my classes I won’t be as merciful.” 

“That won’t happen, I promise.” 

Eren couldn’t believe his luck. If he hadn’t been afraid of risking his career again, he would have kissed the professor right there and then, but since he still retained a healthy amount of fear, he simply smiled at him. The professor quickly averted his gaze and muttered something Eren didn’t understand. 

“Did you say something?” Eren asked. 

The professor shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. 

“No,” he said. “If you don’t have other questions, leave before I change my mind.” 

“Yes, sorry,” Eren sheepishly smiled. “Have a nice day, goodbye.” 

As he left the room, he could feel the professor’s gaze on his back. 

  
  
  
From that day on, Eren never skipped one of professor Ackerman’s lectures. He always made sure to sit somewhere the man could see him and outdid himself for his assignments. His friends were surprised by his change, he had never been one to be on top of his studies in high school, but the professor had been very clear during their last meeting and even if Eren wasn’t crazy about studying, he still didn’t want to stay in college forever. 

The other reason why he never skipped his classes was because he had a crush on the professor. He was forced to admit it the day he was caught drooling on the desk with his head resting on one hand. His eyes had been following the man’s lower regions everywhere in the classroom for more than an hour, feeding his mind of inappropriate fantasies and he realised it only when the professor stopped in front of him. 

“My eyes are up here, Jaeger.” 

It took a few seconds for Eren to understand who was talking to him and what they were saying, but when he did, he immediately straightened his back. He gaped at the man in front of him, fruitlessly trying to come up with an excuse, but his mind didn’t provide him with one and in a matter of seconds everyone in the classroom was snickering at him. 

His faced burnt up, starting from his neck and reaching the tip of his ears and the smug grin the professor was wearing didn’t help him overcome his embarrassment. 

“At least you weren’t snoring like someone else,” the man said, looking towards the end of the room and saving Eren from his own stupidity. 

From that day on, Eren did his best not to be caught again and apart from a few glances here and there, he succeeded in his mission. However, it didn’t change the fact that his crush was the stupidest thing ever and he cursed his heart every time it slammed in his chest when he met the professor’s eyes. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do about it, his heart was already set on it and what had started as admiration and gratitude had now turned into something else. 

He spent entire days fighting against his infatuation not only because it distracted him from anything he was doing, but also because it left him feeling like an idiot for falling so easily. The professor had simply been kind enough to forgive him for having spilled coffee on him and as the lovesick that he was, he had fallen for him. Maybe the fact the professor was one of the hottest men he had ever seen also had a part in it, but it definitely didn’t change their relationship as student and teacher. 

For months he tried to supress his feelings and talk some sense into his heart and when the semester finally ended, he was both relieved and saddened. He was sure he would now be able to forget all about the man and lead a normal life again, but once he passed his exam with a pretty decent mark reality doomed on him and made him feel more miserable than before. 

He wasn’t going to see professor Ackerman anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments give me life <3  
> [ Tumblr ](https://talkereritome.tumblr.com/)  
> [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/exe_rachel)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “You’re actually pretty cute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is the last chapter of the fic, which could also be the beginning of another one, but I don't think I'll write a sequel to this, I didn't plan that far ahead. I had a lot of fun writing this short fic and I hope you enjoyed reading it! :)

Once the new semester began, Eren survived a grand total of two days before admitting defeat. There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to live without seeing professor Ackerman every day and all his best efforts to rationalise his feelings were thrown out the window whenever he saw a white shirt. He not-so-sneakily looked for the man everywhere around campus but wasn’t successful in his quest. The thought of looking up his schedule briefly crossed his mind before he realised it would have been too creepy even for him.

That didn’t stop him from looking for signs of him in every person he met and his chest ached whenever he saw someone with the same colour of hair or way of walking, and inevitably, every short man in the streets brought the professor’s image to his mind. 

Lingering over his crush, there was a sense of idiocy and ridiculousness that made him feel even worse. From the little he had come to know about the professor during his lectures, it was clear that they lived in two separate worlds and that the chances of him being even slightly interested in Eren were close to none. He was always elegant, hair perfectly styled in an undercut that drove Eren crazy, and his voice so charming that Eren could listen to it for hours on end without getting bored; during his times of weakness he had even imagined what it would sound like close to his ears, hoarse and breathy and-

Eren groaned. He didn’t need those kinds of thoughts when he was right in the middle of town, looking for stationary supplies. The shop was near campus and Eren definitely hadn’t chosen it because he had thought he might bump into a certain someone; he simply liked walking to the other side of the city to exercise. 

Once he had picked up everything he needed, he paid and left the shop with his mind still set on only one thought, so as he turned a corner on autopilot, he didn’t see the man coming his direction until they crashed and his goods fell on the ground. 

“Sorry,” he quickly said, but when his eyes landed on the person in front of him, his heart started to slam in his chest. 

“Do you ever look where you’re going?” 

Professor Ackerman was staring at him with a corner of his mouth imperceptibly raised in an amused grin. Eren gaped at him like an idiot and the moment he realised that, his cheeks lit on fire. He awkwardly chuckled and bent down to pick up his stuff and hide his embarrassment. The professor did the same and as their fingers brushed, Eren’s heart went flying out of his chest. 

“Thank you,” Eren said, standing up again. 

The professor nodded. “Are you heading to campus?” 

“No, I don’t have classes today. Are you?” 

What was with this awkward conversation? 

“I still have a bit of time before my lecture.” 

Eren knew he could be dumb and oblivious sometimes, but the way the professor had casually dropped that piece of information made him wonder if there was a hidden meaning behind his words. His features hadn’t changed and he was still looking at him with mild amusement on his face. A small light lit in Eren’s head. He knew for a fact that the man wore a constant scowl and he had never seen him smile, so why was he now? 

Was he hinting at something else? 

Eren had never analysed a small gesture as deeply in his life, but he could have spent months thinking about it and the result would have still been the same. 

“Would you like to grab a coffee with me?” he blurted out. 

He had said it. The words that had kept playing in his head for days on end during the lectures had finally left his lips. It was liberating, like a weight had lifted from his shoulders and he could finally breathe again, but his body sensed his anxiety before his mind. His stomach turned into a knot and his mouth was suddenly dry, so much so that even swallowing was a difficult task. His teeth had unconsciously bitten his bottom lip and while his entire body was tense, his mind was empty, waiting to be filled by the professor’s reply. 

The man raised his eyebrows for a brief second, apparently surprised, but the little smirk was still on his face when he casually replied, “Why not?”. 

Now it was time for Eren to be taken aback. He didn’t think he would ever get a positive answer and couldn’t believe his ears. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” the professor replied. “You’re actually pretty cute.” 

Eren took a mental note to go see a doctor soon because he was certain there was something wrong with his ears. Had the professor seriously just called him cute? He had never given him any sign or hint during his course, but then again, Eren had always been busy pretending he didn’t like the man, so even if he had caught any signals from him, his mind would have probably denied them. 

“Shall we go?” the professor said, disrupting Eren from his thoughts. “I know a place that makes good coffee.” 

“Yes,” Eren quickly replied. 

The professor grinned and casually brushing his bangs out of his face, he signalled Eren to follow him. 

During the whole walk to a café nearby, Eren tried to wrap his head around the fact that he was going on what looked like a date to him with the hottest professor on earth. He sneakily stole glances of the man walking a few steps ahead of him and each time his heart almost stopped. His every movement was graceful and seemed effortless and more often than not his eyes landed on the lower regions of the man’s body, bringing to his mind his many fantasies about him. 

“We’re here,” the professor said, stopping in front of a small shop with flowers next to the green door. 

Once inside, Eren noticed that there weren’t many people to witness his incoming embarrassment, but the cosy environment and the soft music that came out from the speakers helped his nerves to calm down. 

“What do you want?” his professor asked. 

“A cup of coffee.” 

The man placed their order and exchanged a few words with the waitress as if they already knew each other. Eren felt a bit jealous at such intimacy and wondered if they would ever reach that level of familiarity. It already felt like a miracle that they were about to have coffee together, in hindsight not the appropriate beverage for someone about to have a nervous breakdown. 

As they waited for their drinks, they sat at a table in the corner next to the window. Eren’s movements had become robotic and his body was so stiff that it looked like he had a stick glued to his back. 

“Are you okay?” the professor asked, frowning. 

“Yes,” Eren said, trailing off since he didn’t know how to address the man. 

“You can call me Levi now, I’m not your professor anymore.” 

“Okay, Levi.” 

Saying the name calmed Eren down a bit. 

“Do you need anything from me since you invited me out?” Levi asked. 

“Not really.” 

Eren didn’t know what to say. He had asked the man out in the spur of the moment, too happy to have finally seen him after weeks without him, but he hadn’t thought far ahead, so he now found himself at a loss for words. Levi looked at him expectantly, mouth again curved into a tiny smirk, as if aware that Eren was struggling, but he didn’t say anything. 

“Do.. do you have lectures this semester as well?” Eren asked. 

What a great topic of conversation. 

“Yes, almost every day,” Levi replied. 

“Really? I never see you around campus.” 

Levi’s lips twitched and he raised his eyebrows for a brief second before wearing his usual blank expression again. 

“Were you looking for me?” 

Eren blushed. “Not really,” he replied, but before he could say anything more revealing, the waitress arrived with their drinks; a cup of hot black tea for Levi and one of coffee for Eren. 

“I take it you weren’t looking for me for academic reasons,” Levi said, once they were alone. 

Eren burnt himself with the coffee he was drinking. 

“You weren’t subtle in class,” Levi continued. “But you’re not the first one.” 

The thought of someone else confessing to Levi made Eren’s stomach sink. Of course there were other people that had found him attractive and had tried to hit on him. For all Eren knew, someone may have even succeeded. 

He looked at the coffee between his hands. The dark liquid reflected the lights on the ceiling and he could see part of his shadow. The realisation that Levi had probably accepted his offer only to tell him he already had a significant other made Eren wish he could hide into that darkness that would shield him from anything outside. 

He couldn’t raise his eyes and even if part of himself remembered Levi calling him cute, another one, bigger and stronger, reminded him of the months of indifference he had witnessed in class. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I know it was stupid of me, but I couldn’t help it.” 

“I thought I wasn’t being subtle either,” Levi replied, touching Eren’s hand for a second. “Maybe I was wrong.” 

Eren looked at him. “What do you mean?” 

He knew what Levi was hinting at, but he needed to hear the words coming out of his mouth. 

“I don’t get coffee with just any student,” Levi replied. “In fact, I never did.” 

“Why me then?” Eren had to ask. 

“I told you you’re cute,” Levi smirked behind his tea. “And I was positively impressed when you had the guts to come to my office hours to apologise for the coffee on my shirt.” 

Eren’s body relaxed at every word Levi said. 

“I kept having nightmares about you the night before, but I had a feeling it would have been worse if I hadn’t said anything.” 

“You were right,” Levi replied so seriously that Eren didn’t know whether to be scared or amused. 

“So…” Eren trailed off, afraid of saying something wrong. 

“So?” Levi exhorted. 

“Where does this leave us?” 

Levi’s lips curved into a grin that Eren was starting to learn was a sign of approval. 

“Why don’t we start with another coffee?” Levi said. 

Eren smiled, aware of the meaning behind those words. “Okay.” 

Coffee sounded like a good place to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and remember that kudos and comments give me life <33  
> [ Tumblr ](https://talkereritome.tumblr.com/) (I have a new username!)  
> [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/exe_rachel)


End file.
